So, my latest game raised some interesting questions around in-game communication methods. I wanted to open up a discussion thread so we could chat about them and maybe come to a consensus about where the line should be drawn.

Some questions to get the ball rolling:

1) Should we disallow adding content to previous posts in the same game day with edits? Most recently, this was used by the Seer to edit in a reveal on a previous page at the end of the day, thereby leaving a reveal that would only be seen by someone making an effort to review all the posts of that day.

2) Should we disallow editing of posts that have been made, even if they're edited immediately? Wolves have used this functionality to fix accidental slips (or to fake them!) in the past.

3) Should we disallow manipulation of post text to make it hard to read/invisible? Doing so with votes is already functionally forbidden with Vote tag, but it's still perfectly possible to set the fontsize to 1 or to set the foreground and background color of text to same thing, thereby hiding them from display. There's also goofy ASCII font abuses that can obscure text as well. All of these would eventually be discovered, but the delay can sometimes make all the difference in the world if you're trying to avoid the Wolves switching the maul to you.

4) Should we allow encryption of post text, either faux (ROT13) or real (with the decryption key and instructions being posted later/on a following day)?

I kind of assume Okaros is out to backstab me until proven otherwise. - DOM

As much fun as #1 and #3 have been in the past, they both accomplish something that would be impossible if we were playing with a traditional Day/Night cycle. Namely, it allows a Seer to claim and reveal without the wolves having a chance to respond.

#4 I think is frustrating for almost everyone to deal with, other than the person doing the encryption, and it has the same sort of spirit-of-the-rules issues as #1 and #3. Therefore, I think it should remain barred.

#2 I'm not sure of, as it's gets into a question of "Where do we draw the line?" as far as content-editing is concerned. Are minor edits okay but not revamps of content? Gameplay-wise, I feel these are the equivalent of momentary slips of tongue (deliberate or otherwise) and in person not everyone is going to catch these.

I kind of assume Okaros is out to backstab me until proven otherwise. - DOM

Agreed on all; Allow for #2 IMHO. If we stop allowing for edits, then it becomes a whole lot of quibbling over edit details, and a whole lot more work to track them down (retractions, etc.). If people are working around the ruleset (#3, #4), then it feels to me that they're breaking the spirit of the game, but I could also see that being up to GM discretion - if you had a parlor game where only two players spoke German, would you allow communication in German? #1's just breaking the forum visibility aspects - we have "software that indicates new content" and you're adding new content without indicating it. No possible way to simulate that in a live-game scenario.

With regards to #1/#2, I think (maybe Omega or another Admin can confirm?) that the forum can be made to only accept edits to posts for X minutes after the post is made (15? 20?), which might be a way to allow a reasonable window for changes without allowing #1 to occur.

Admins would have to remember not to abuse their admin powers, though. *cough*

I kind of assume Okaros is out to backstab me until proven otherwise. - DOM

An edit lock (where edits can't be done, or can't be done after a certain time window) could be handled by creating an UnVote or Retract tag similar to the Vote tag and requiring people to use it when retracting their vote.

I kind of assume Okaros is out to backstab me until proven otherwise. - DOM

I already made my case against #1 and it's been echoed here; I believe we should always aspire for the forum game to maintain the spirit of the parlor game as close as possible.

So:DisallowAllowDisallowDisallow

Only reason I say allow on 2 is because I oftentimes make simple typos that I only catch after posting and want to correct so as to not look foolish or be misunderstood. I love the ideas of a time lock in which to edit posts and a Retraction tag (if only for easier tracking of when retractions actually occur, also to stop people from erronously using the term redacted)!

I found the lack of edit capability at Mafia universe very frustrating.

I frequently edit for content, to fit your screen, and to run in the time allotted. Then, when I'm not working, I fix typos in my forum posts.

#Vote for: grammar not gamebreaking edits are fair game

More in a bit,

7z7

Edit: speeeling

"Zark Helmet is too awesome NOT to use!" -Smirker"The possibility that it's Zark simply murdering someone at a whim each day... would be delightful if true, but I worry that that's too simple a solution." - Okaros